Attorney Marie West, who once worked for Attorney General Drew Edmondson, and has since sued him, claims she was asked to "lie, to spy on, and to give shoddy legal advice" to the very state agencies she was employed to represent, according to this shocking report first broadcast on KFOR in December. (video has been removed) OKPNS has learned of allegations that the Attorney General's office is purposely over counting chicken houses to bolster its claim of river pollution. This document was distributed at an August, 2006 Oklahoma Scenic River Commission meeting. It shows 3,057 houses in the Illinois River watershed - and then calculates out the amount of litter, etc. According to our source, there were only 1,694 active houses. There may be 3,057 poultry houses, but many of the old houses are no longer in use. The report also estimates that the "3,057" houses produce 542,948 tons of poultry litter or 177 tons of litter per house. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture calculates litter at about 125 tons per 40X400 house ( which is a standard size - some are larger, some are smaller.) If the numbers are re-calculated on the true number of active poultry houses - and the amount of litter generated - it's less than half the number the secretary of environment and the Oklahoma Attorney General is using to convince the public there is too much litter.

Labels: AG, Drew Edmondson, Poultry Lawsuit

Posted at 3/21/2007 10:43:00 AM